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UK announces extra 5.4 billion pounds for NHS COVID response – Metro US

UK announces extra 5.4 billion pounds for NHS COVID response

An NHS worker stands near a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mobile
An NHS worker stands near a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mobile testing unit in Tower Hamlets, London

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government announced on Monday it would set aside a further 5.4 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) to help the National Health Service (NHS) cover additional costs from the COVID-19 pandemic and to tackle the huge treatment backlog.

“The NHS was there for us during the pandemic – but treating Covid patients has created huge backlogs,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.

“This funding will go straight to the frontline, to provide more patients with the treatments they need but aren’t getting quickly enough.”

($1 = 0.7229 pounds)

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by James Davey)